E-DRUG: Providing TA to Strengthen Procurement and Supply Management (PSM)
Lao
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Please note deadline 15 April
International Call for Expression of Interest (EOI)
Providing TA to Strengthen Procurement and Supply Management (PSM) in MOH/PR Office
Principal Recipient (PR) Office to the GFATM in Lao PDR calls for suitable
candidates to submit their Expression of Interest to receive an Invitation
for RFP (Request for Proposal) for providing PSM Assistance in country.
Vientiane Lao PDR
April 2013
Background
An effective and sustainable supply chain for health commodities meeting
acceptable standards to keep products secure and in good condition, is a
pre-condition for stakeholders to harmonize all vertical donor funded health
program supplies under the Ministry of Health into one medical store
organization. So far the operationalization of one central managed supply
system for the national disease programs has been slow, sustaining the
fragmented supply chains which largely remain managed by each program
separately. The lack of visibility of the overall supply at different levels
managed by another center, has reinforced the belief within programs and
donors that it is safer to continue managing their own supply chains in the
prevailing conditions. Change has to come from within and a national supply
chain is not easy to turn around with just external funding or donor
pressure.
In that context, the Global Fund, the Principle Recipient (PR), and the Laos
CCM recently agreed that, given the long term view on a national supply
chain, the PR in Lao PDR shall prioritize PSM and use pooled grant savings
to create an initial budget to ensure that the PR will meet its obligations
as grant manager.
Objective
Grant Agreements with the Global Fund make the PR, as manager of the grants
in Lao PDR, the sole responsible party to implement the systems and
procedures to ensure that all health commodities procured with GF funding
are used as intended. This can be achieved only when a) all purchases,
receipts, stocks, issues, consumptions, expiries and, if any other losses,
are periodically accounted for by the recipient programs for analysis and
reporting by the PR and b) adequate physical arrangements are in place to
safeguard the quality of the goods, such as consumables and fixed assets.
The objective of this EOI/RFP is to identify, select, and appoint a capable
agent who will assist the Principle Recipient and the main Sub-Recipients to
strengthen the PSM of GF funded programs, starting immediately for a period
of one, and possibly two to three years, depending on availability of
additional funds. It is expected that the agent, along with the PR
Procurement and Finance unit, will agree on work plans developed with
selected Sub-Recipients to strengthen PSM for the grants.
Scope of Work[1]
In order of priority, the focus will be on working with the PR and selected
Sub-Recipients:
- improving and standardizing the tools for inventory management and
forecasting, including providing the technical input for training of local
staff in correct procedures.
- Standardizing the templates for routine logistics data analysis and
reports for standard stock status indicators (including consumption/expiry,
stock outs.
- Developing a strategy for computerization of LMIS data flows from
periphery to central level, implementing the system, including training of
operators in provinces/districts in use of software
- Consolidating customs clearing and warehousing at central level and
provinces,
- Optimizing the transport modalities which ensure secure keeping and
cost efficient delivery of goods in adequate conditions,
- Rationalizing product selections and quality assurance, and
- Developing the physical improvement of storage facilities for all
health products.
Budget
The nominal budget for PSM strengthening is not more than. 400K USD. This
sum must cover project management and implementation for the first year. The
proposal must cover the four main Sub-Recipients that handle health
commodities and it may focus or target a limited number of provinces as a
pilot, to increase short-term impact.
Procurement budgets for HIV in next 3 years average 28 million USD per year (mainly due to ARV costs), for TB in (next 3 years)
around 1 million USD per year and for Malaria (next two years) around 1,4
million USD average per year. Total cost of health commodities is
approximately 70 million USD with 15 million USD for freight costs over a
total of eight grant years. An average of 4% of the sum is available in the
grants to coordinate and strengthen PSM activities. The 400K USD budget for
this project is additional to this. A brief epidemiology of the three
diseases, numbers to treat, and more detailed information of health
commodities in PSM plans will be provided in the RFP.
Who can return an EOI?
Because this assignment requires a team on the ground with adequate
expertise in health goods and with demonstrated experience in Supply Chain
Management (SCM) including forecasting of health products and the
implementation of an effective and feasible computerized Logistics
Information Management System (LMIS), the prospective bidder should be a
company (profit or non profit or not for profit organization) or a joint
venture, consortium or association which has the technical knowledge, has
and past experience in similar successful projects, knows how to use PSM
plans and performance frameworks, can pool the necessary implementation
skills, and has the capacity to deploy several long term TAs in country with
back stopping to deliver the services on time. The proposal will be required
to provide clear timelines and deliverables during execution of the
contract.
EOI from individual consultants cannot be considered but, if interested,
they are encouraged to be part of a bid made by an eligible organization,
company, or consortium.
EOI evaluation criteria
All EOIs submitted to the PR Office before the deadline and found responsive
will be evaluated on criteria listed below to qualify for participation in
the RFP. Only the short list of interested candidates found technically
capable to - to implement this project will receive the subsequent RFP by
direct invitation to submit their technical proposal and financial bid. The
PR Office and Sub-Recipients will evaluate the proposals following the
Quality Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method[2] under a fixed budget.
To be short-listed in the EOI process an interested candidate must
demonstrate as a minimum:
. Their expertise in Supply Chain Management (SCM) for pharmaceuticals
and other health commodities in similar environments and in managing an
effective LMIS (Logistics Information Management System) or similar data
information systems. Please enclose professional qualifications of key
applicant's staff and other external experts proposed to be in country to
carry out the assignment - preferably the staff will have skills in LMIS
design, computerization, and forecasting for all health products,.
. Their experience in providing effective technical assistance to, or
leading, successful implementation of similar PSM projects in health sectors
of typical low resource settings while working within limited budgets.
Examples from specific countries comparable to or relevant to the context of
Lao PDR and rough project outline, actual timelines and indications of total
project cost will be helpful. Links to websites to provide the information
will be considered.
. Their experience in effective verbal exchange, reports,
documentations, use of forms, meeting minutes, design of software
interfaces. Working language is English but foreign candidates must have the
ability to overcome language barriers in management of people and find ways
to provide technical assistance, on-site training, and effective skill
transfer during implementation. For instance by knowing some of the Lao PDR
history, having cultural and anthropological interests and by showing
effective/motivating counterpart management. The candidate may need to
partner with a local or regional office, use of local consultants, and
translators for some time.
. Not be black listed in other countries or by international donor
agencies, and be free from litigation, conflict of interest (or declare
these), and have not been deemed to have rendered unsatisfactory services or
supplied substandard goods to MOH Lao PDR or Government health programs
elsewhere before.
EOI Submission
Interested companies, firms or organizations (ventures, associations
etcetera) should study the criteria above to submit their formal expression
of interest on their letterhead, signed by the managing director of the
company (venture, association etc.) or legal representative, with the
following documents attached or enclosed (undersigned cover letter in
original scanned pdf file format):
- Brochure, link to website or a brief presentation of your company
or venture, association etcetera
- The CVs of available appropriate professional qualification of
proposed experts and capacities and skills among the proposed team
- Reference list demonstrating experience with similar assignments &
conditions in concerned geographic areas
- Contact information (name address, email address)
The EOI and the accompanying documents must be received by the Lao PDR PR
Office by COB on: 15/04/2013. Submit to:
Mr. Keophouthone Inthivong, Procurement Specialist, email address:
keophouthone@theglobalfundlao.org
at Principal Recipient (PR Office) Opposite the Ministry of Health Simouang
Village, Sisattanak District, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR.
Tel: 865 21 242980
Fax: 856 21 242981.
cc to:
Khampiew, Finance/logistics Principal Recipient (PR Office) on email:
khampiew@theglobalfundlao.org
P Verhoeven, TA to Principal Recipient (PR Office) on email:
verhoeven.pascal@gmail.com.
Interested candidates who wish to obtain further information for this
assignment before submitting an EOI may contact the contacts listed above at
the PR Office in writing only.
RFP Process (for information only)
Upon receipt of the EOI, within one (1) week, The Principal Recipient (PR
Office) will reply to qualified, short listed applicants with a letter of
invitation and the RFP document to prepare and submit a proposal including
budget. The applicant then will have four (4) weeks to prepare and submit
the proposal (bid) in hard copy to the PR Office. The deadline for receipt
of the bid is five (5) weeks after the request for the proposal is sent to
the short listed applicant.
During this period, the bidders may request clarifications about the
information provided in the RFP and PR shall provide these clarifications in
writing and copy them to all firms issued with RFP. Depending on the nature
of clarification, PR may consider extending the deadline for submission of
proposals. The technical and financial proposals shall be submitted at the
same time in separate sealed envelopes. No amendments to the technical or
financial proposal shall be accepted after the deadline. The final
evaluation and ranking of bids received from short listed candidates will
consist of a score derived from the technical proposal which has to meet a
minimum score (75/100) after which the highest technical score wins among
those bids which have a financial proposal within the fixed budget. The
final draft of contract and award of the contract to the selected firm with
best final score requires a no objection from the Global Fund.
Disclaimer
Only qualified companies or organizations will be invited to participate in
the subsequent RFP process (short list). The PR Office reserves the right to
accept or reject any Expression of Interest if so instructed by the Global
Fund for any reason given by them without necessarily disclosing the
reason(s) to bidders. As remarked in relation to the Scope of Work, the PR
reserves the right to negotiate one or more components from the proposal for
implementation by the successful candidate.
MOH Committee members, external members, Sub-Recipients' staff or any MOH
Officials related to this project will at all times refrain from contact
with any prospective bidders for tenders and declare any conflict of
interest on their side and declare such attempts from your side to the PR
which can lead to disqualification of your proposal. Invitations to bid or
requests for proposals and any subsequent contract will be issued in all
cases in accordance with the rules and procedures of The Global Fund
(Geneva).
Director of GFATM Project
Ministry of Public Health, Lao PDR